Hours Loom
by TheTimeSword
Summary: It's Spike's hatchday, and the mane six are throwing him a party in Twilight Sparkle's castle. Spike and his friends have no idea what's in store for them. The night turns horrid as the guests are trapped in the castle and systematically picked off. Only time will tell as these ponies final hours loom. Can you figure out who the killer is before the final chapter?
1. Introduction: The Hours Preceding

**Introduction: The Hours Preceding**

The summer was drawing to a close, Hearth's Warming Eve just around the corner. Princess Twilight Sparkle had just met with her brother and sister-in-law at the Ponyville train station. While they mostly only left the Crystal Empire on earth ending business, this was one of the few times they both were able to travel for fun. This was the day that Spike was hatched, the savior of the Crystal Empire, he deserved the royal visit.

"I really appreciate you guys making the trip, and I know Spike will be just as excited to see you two."

"Of course sis, Spike is like family!" Shining Armor replied, "Cadence and I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"As long as that world wasn't being destroyed again." Cadence interjected.

The three reminisced over defeating old enemies, and using crystal formed maps to make new foes.

Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were setting up decorations amongst the castle to prepare for the big night. While Spike has always gotten a hatchday, this year the main six truly wanted to make him feel special.

"Sooo, what'd you guys get him?!" Rainbow Dash said with her usual inquisitive nature.

"OHHH OH OH! I found this one hair designer who makes fake moustaches and had her make SEVEN different styles OF MOUSTACHES! He is going to be SO EXCITED!" The pink pony exclaimed her gift, turned to face them with one of the fake moustaches on.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy, impressed by the quality of Pinkie's moustache.

"Well what'd you get him Fluttershy?"

"Me? Well, I had one of his dragon code cards. So I thought I would have it detailed and print multiples for him, that a way he can give them out instead of just showing one off." Fluttershy replied. "You don't think that's too much do you?"

Rainbow, shocked by the thought put into Fluttershy's gift, glided to the ground close to her.

"I think you may have me beat on best gift this year Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash continued "and I was actually trying SUPER hard to win!"

"Rainbow Dash, not everything has to be a competition y'know." Applejack shouted to her, while pushing in some catering.

"Yeah yeah." Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes out of sight of Applejack.

The party was to begin when the sun started to set. While everyone was preparing for the party, Rarity and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were entertaining the hatchday boy himself. While their duty was to keep him away from the castle, the party itself was not a surprise.

"While I must say, you do look ravishing in your elegant attire," Rarity paused, removing Spike's bowtie. "but we want you to be as… well… _YOU_ , as possible!"

While removing his top hat Spike replied, "Aww, but Shining Armor and Princess Cadence will be there! They'll be dressing formally! I just know it!" He pushed his lower lip out in an attempt to coerce her.

"Fine, you can wear the top hat." She gave in quickly at the sight of those sad eyes. "However, nothing more! While I won't spoil it, you may be receiving something quite striking from a certain fashionista you know."

"Yeah! I know what it is and I've got a great match for it in my present! It's a…" Sweetie Belle was cut short by Applebloom shoving an apple into her mouth.

"Don't tell him! It's supposed to be a surprise!" added Scootaloo.

An indistinguishable sentence can be heard from the gagged Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie Belle, don't talk with food in your mouth." Rarity, amused by the situation, added to the teasing.

Spike, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo laughed together while a frustrated Sweetie Belle tried to remove the apple from her mouth.

It seemed as almost everything was coming together smoothly. Perhaps too smoothly for Twilight Sparkle's liking. Spike didn't want to run away and become a full-fledged dragon, there was no great return of an evil doer, and as a matter of fact the biggest problem was Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were unable to attend due to scheduling differences.

The decorations were scattered amongst the halls, the dance room set up with a disco ball and record player, and the catering in the dining room all brought together by Applejack. Underneath the roots of the great oak sat the presents for Spike, perhaps his favorite room of the night.

Five of the main six, along with Shining and Cadence were awaiting the arrival of Spike, Rarity and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This would be all the guests whom were attending that night. The twelve souls, coming together at the sunset, unaware of the beckoning danger looming in these hours.


	2. Chapter 1: The Evening Cometh

**Chapter 1: The Evening Cometh**

The sun was setting when Spike, Rarity, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived at Twilight's castle. You could hardly tell though, as dark storm clouds had started to form over the town.

"Oh I'm sure it'll be taken care of, maybe just some loose clouds from Cloudsdale making their stormy little way here. We'll be safe and hopefully _dry_ inside." Rarity said to Sweetie Belle, trying to calm herself more than her little sister.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes as she and her fellow crusaders entered the castle with Spike. Rarity nervously stared at the clouds and then quickly followed them in, making sure to close the door securely behind her.

"Shining Armor! Cadence! You made it!" Spike exclaimed as he ran up and greeted them both warmly.

"Hey there little guy, we wouldn't miss it for the world." Shining Armor wrapped his foreleg around Spike. "You get bigger every time I see you." Cadence added, wrapping her foreleg around Spike as well.

Twilight greeted Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie at the entry way to the Great Oak Hall as Spike greeted Shining and Cadence.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were off to the dining room.

"Apple Bloom! Get off the table! You know better than that!" Applejack shouted.

"Sorry!" Apple Bloom and her two friends could be seen quickly running out and into the Dance Hall.

Sweetie Belle, screaming in excitement at the lights and music, could be heard from anywhere in the castle.

Applejack walked to the group to greet them and raised an eyebrow. "Was that there my lil' sis or yours?" She gave a questioning look at Rarity.

"Unfortunately mine. Although it was hard to contain their excitement long before we even started to make our way over here. I'm a bit disappointed as they had more excitement than Spike himself."

"I appreciate you watching over Spike while I met with Cadence and Shining." Twilight said as she walked up to Rarity and hugged her.

"Think nothing of it darlin', it was my pleasure."

"Enough with the emotions, let's get this _PAR-TAY STAR-TED_!" Balloons and confetti shooting off all around the loud pink pony, followed up with a "yay" from Fluttershy.

They gathered for dinner first, the dining room full of ponies and one baby dragon. Spike's seat had a booster in it to make him appear taller. Twilight sat between her BBBFF and Spike, with Rarity on his other side.

No one was talking to Spike throughout the meal, mostly chatting with each other.

Rarity going on about fashion to Fluttershy. Rainbow exaggerating details of her latest exploits to the CMC. Pinkie and Applejack conversing with Cadence about life in the Crystal Empire, mostly which contained Pinkie blabbering on about the cold on her adventure to the Yak's that surrounds the Crystal Empire.

He didn't mind any of this, as he was still in awe that all these kind hearted ponies not only showed up, but actually wanted to be there.

He got a tear in his eye that slowly fell down his cheek onto his plate of brightly colored, half-eaten gems.

Twilight immediately noticed. "Spike?! What's the matter?"

He wiped his eyes and stood up onto his boosted chair, everyone took notice and immediately silenced themselves.

"I have never been one to make very good speeches, or even be that helpful in times of crisis," he raised his juice box above his head "but you all are so kind and loving. I just wanted you all to know that and… and you all make me so happy to be your friend."

Waterfalls of tears sprayed from Pinkie Pie as Spike finished his speech.

She ran across the table knocking food over and grabbed onto Spike. She squeezed him tight with tears flooding down like an unkempt watering hose.

"WE LOVE YOU SPIKE!" She screamed as she practically broke the baby dragon's spine.

"Aww." The rest of the table looked on with smiles.

"Get UP HERE! All of you!" Pinkie screamed at them.

All the guests got up onto the table and surrounded him with a great big hug.

"I'm not gonna get in trouble fer standin' on the table again, am I Applejack?" A worried Apple Bloom asked.

The entire party laughed, and then the table collapsed underneath their weight. Eleven ponies and a dragon are not smart table decorations.

* * *

The party continued on after their unstable table accident. It was time for Spike to open his presents.

He received the fake moustaches and box of 'business' cards from Pinkie and Fluttershy accordingly.

Twilight got him a book, as is her tradition, but this year it was different. It was a big strung together comic book of the Mane-iac series Spike oh so loved. The pages fit together perfectly as not to interrupt the story being told. Twilight herself took many hours crafting it in secret.

His face lit up and he hugged her. "Thank you so much Twilight!"

Shining and Cadence got him a miniature statue of Spike that resembled the larger one in the Crystal Empire. His ego was sure to grow ten-fold by being around it.

Applejack's gift was rather unique. A piece of timber carved into the shape of a bone with the name Spike on it.

"I figured somethin' like this would always remind yah of the time we fought off them timber wolves. Those varmints showed me I had somethin' truly special with a friend like you Spike. I'll never forget it."

She hugged him tight and he returned it in kind, thanking her for the special gift.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom simply got him a large sack of gems the size of ice cream sprinkles. It would make a great cake topping for his desert later that night. …And a quick snack at that moment!

Rainbow Dash was certainly right in saying her gift was not as thoughtful as Fluttershy's, but being a baby dragon he was still a child. She gave him with a secret code creator that could be used to write and decode messages. It was actually a simple decryption, one that used the number in the alphabets line as its letter. Double zeros were A, a zero and a one were B, leading all the way to Z.

'Just call me dragon, Spike the dragon.' Spike had thought to himself, amused by the decoder.

Rarity's gift was simple, a white cloak. It fit him perfectly, it wrapped around his chest and didn't drag on the floor as he walked. Sweetie Belle had also sewn in an emblem of Spike on the lapel.

"It's nonflammable." Rarity said to him as he finished putting it on. "I know how much you want to be a true knight, and true knights wear white. Plus, I hope you'll think of me every time you wear it. Perhaps one day you'll be my knight."

Rarity blushed, and turned her head away to prevent embarrassment.

"I love it!"

Spike ran up and hugged Rarity. Spike didn't take it as infatuation, but he did know Rarity truly cared about him.

"And I sewed the emblem!" Sweetie Belle shouted with glee.

Spike hugged her too.

Since the presents were unwrapped, the cake was served and the ponies carried into the dance hall.

* * *

They spent the few last evening hours dancing and socializing with one another, playing pin the tail on the pony, and a special song and dance performed by the very own Cutie Mark Crusaders.

The party was ending and the goodbyes were being said. The foals and Pinkie were tired from all the dancing.

Spike said his goodbyes in the Great Oak Hall, close to all his presents. He was exhausted and started to curl into a ball, still wrapped in his cloak and wearing the top hat. The guests were escorted to the entrance by Twilight. Cadence and Shining Armor were to be staying in the guest quarters but walked with them to the door.

"I appreciate all you did, I know Spike had a wonderful time tonight." Twilight said as they arrived at the door. She used her magic to open the door. "He and I both are very lucky to have each of you as friends and…"

"and…"

"AND…"

Twilight struggled to finish her sentence as she tried to pull the door open.

It wasn't budging.

"Uhh. Let me try I guess." Shining said as he too tried to open the door.

The door seemed to be stuck.

"Is it bolted? How about we try a window?" Fluttershy suggested.

Cadence attempted to open the shutters to one of the windows to the side of the door.

"You would think two alicorns and the captain of the royal guard could open a simple door or window! Whatever your castle is made of Twilight, I want it in mine!" She said.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash grabbed onto the door handle with their teeth and tried to pull as hard as they could, eventually failing they tumbled back into the stairs behind them.

Twilight peered out the shutters unable to see anything more than pure darkness and the occasional light flash from a lightning strike.

"Well I suppose you all could stay here for the night, and we could figure it out in the morn—"

Twilight was cut off by the loud crash of thunder, followed by the entire castle's lights going pitch black.

Screams could be heard and the stomping of feet.

"Calm down everypony!" Twilight yelled as she light up the area around her with a magic spell.

The only two still close to her was Cadence and Shining.

Cadence, wrapped up in her husband's embrace, gained a strong fear of the dark after being trapped underground by Queen Chrysalis.

"Are you two alright?" Twilight asked as Shining used his own light spell.

"I'm fine! I'm fine." Cadence said, removing herself from her husband's comforting grasp. "We should… look for the others. It's not safe for them if they can't light their path."

Twilight nodded. "Come on, I'll lead the way."

Two corridors were on both sides of the stairs that opposed the entrance to the castle.

They walked up the stairs in an attempt to find any of the remaining main six or the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

The lights flickered on for a few seconds, then came completely back. Three high pitched screams could be heard all around the castle the moment the light returned.

"This way!" Twilight yelled as she charged on ahead to find the source of the distress.

She led all the way to the Great Oak Hall and was immediately met by the other main five outside the entry way. The screams were coming from the room itself.

"Girls!"

"Twilight!"

They skidded to a halt in front of the hall entry door. Another scream pierced the ears of the ponies.

The guests charged in to find the source of the screaming, it was the three little foals who were the cause.

They were the first witnesses to the unspeakable, as they sat huddled together when the lights had returned. These young, innocent foals bore the ghoulish sight of a mangled bloody corpse.

This mangled bloody corpse was that of Spike the dragon.


	3. Chapter 2: Eleven Alive, Eleventh Hour

**Chapter 2: Eleven Alive, Eleventh Hour**

Most of the ponies gathered around the corpse. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were being comforted by Cadence and Applejack as the others examined the remains.

Spike was laid out on his back surrounded by some of his gifts. His eyes were rolled back in his head.

In his mouth was the gift of Applejack. The large wooden bone shoved down his throat, 'Spike' was barely legible with how far it was thrust down his throat. There were no burn marks on the wood, suggesting it was placed postmortem.

If it wasn't the timber than choked him to death, it was the lacerations across his chest. Three cuts on each side of his chest resembled sharp claw marks, but too deep for any animal. The blood from the cuts had turned his cloak a violent red.

"Who could do such a horrible thing to such a little dragon?" Twilight asked, tears filling her eyes.

"SSPPPPIIIIKEEE!" Rarity cried out as Fluttershy held her. "WHYYYYYYY!"

"Please, you must all move away from the body. I know you're upset but this is a crime scene now. We'll need to call the royal guard immediately." Shining commanded as he moved everyone out to the hallway.

"Cadence, could you please escort everyone to the castle entrance?"

Cadence gave Shining a look as if he was crazy. "You want me to leave you here? Something in here did _that_ to Spike, I'm not letting it happen to you too."

Shining's concerned look turned to a fierce adrenaline fire in his eyes.

"That's why I need to get you and Twilight out of here. You two are Princesses and we MUST get you to safety – which is anywhere but here." He replied.

"But what are you going to do?"

He walked back into the Great Oak Hall. "I'm going to see if there is any other evidence, and I'm going to check the castle to see if I can't find the one responsible. They couldn't have gotten far."

Cadence nodded and started to walk back to the group. She turned her head to him and mouthed ' _I love you'_.

He mouthed it back and turned back to the crime scene.

"Alright everypony, we're going to be moving back to the entrance to try and escape. We first need to get all of you to safety, and get the royal guard involved."

Cadence tried to seem tough and direct in her approach, but it was clear that she too was visibly shaken. Not as visibly as Rarity and the CMC, but the situation was not something she was expecting.

She led the ponies out of the hallway and to the entryway. Twilight remained in the back, still trying to comprehend what had happened.

Twilight's heart and brain conflicted. The images running through her brain were grotesque but she had to figure out what had happened to her best friend.

She was trying to find the reasoning behind why the wood wasn't burnt, why the cuts were so uneven, and what could even give a purpose as to why it had happened at all.

They arrived at the castle door. None of them spoke a word to each other, nor could they speak over the volume of Rarity's crying.

"Twilight, I need you." Cadence yelled from the front of the group.

Twilight trotted to the front with her head held down. "What is it?"

"You and I will blast the door open with magic. Even if it is blocked by some sort of lock or magic, it's still a wooden door and wooden can easily be broken through." Explained Cadence, believing to be right.

Nodding in agreement, Twilight backed up and aimed her horn at the door. Cadence stood next to her as the ponies watched with bated breath from the background.

Cadence and Twilight formed their magic missiles together, shooting it towards the large wooden door. As it reached the wooden door, it bounced back, returning the blast towards the ponies.

"WHAT!?" Screamed Twilight.

"Everypony, get down!" Cadence turned and yelled.

The magical blast hurled itself towards Scootaloo, but Rainbow Dash immediately rushed to her, flying and pushing Scootaloo out of the way. While she didn't take the blast directly, Dash's right wing was crippled.

She collapsed on the floor in agony, wrapping her wing around herself, pressing it against her chest.

"Rainbow Dash!" The other ponies yelled as they rushed to her aid.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" A panicked Twilight, apologizing for the spell. "The whole castle is protected by magic, or something! It's some form of barrier!"

"I'm fine! Relax!" Dash got up and extended her wing, then quickly retracted it. "I'll need to go to the hospital to get it looked at, but I'm just glad Scoot's is okay."

Scootaloo ran up and hugged her. "I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash, thank you! I'm really sorry!" She said with tears in her eyes.

Rainbow held her close. "Don't worry kid, I'd never let anything bad happen to you."

"Now how are we gonna get outta here?!" She said as she stood up. "Isn't there something we can do?'

Cadence and Twilight were out of ideas, but knew they couldn't freak out the other ponies. One guest was dead, another injured, and they were trapped. Panic is the last thing they wanted.

"Let's wait for Shining to arrive then we will move to the… What's the most secure room, Twilight?" Cadence turned and asked.

"Unfortunately… The Great Oak Hall. There's only one entrance and no windows. We could also try my bedroom, perhaps just to get some rest and call out from the windows for help in the morning."

"Alright, we'll wait for Shining and then…" Cadence was interrupted by clacking. It had started to rain and was hitting the windows. Thunder could be heard ever so lightly in the distance.

"As much as I'd hate to say it, I think we may want to go with the latter. Even if we get out, there's no telling if we'd be able to make it somewhere else safely." Fluttershy commented on the situation while still holding a distraught Rarity.

The ponies looked at one another with worried faces and understood their predicament.

In that moment the lights started to flicker. As it went pitch black screams could be heard. The lights turned on for a second only to reveal Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all running off in different directions into corridors and up the stairs. Twilight was only able to catch a glimpse as the lights darkened, she yelled to them, "Girls! Wait! It's not safe!"

"Twilight?! What's happenin'?!" Applejack yelled to Twilight in the darkness.

"I-I don't know!" She replied as she lit up the area with her horn.

"The girls! Where are the girls?!" Applejack moved into Twilight's light, frantically searching for any semblance of the three foals.

"I'm going after Apple Bloom!" She said as she ran off chasing after one of the silhouettes.

"We have to go after them!" Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight moved her light over Cadence.

She was cowering on the floor, covering her eyes, and whimpering.

Twilight looked at the other girls.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were standing together, one in obvious pain and the other emotionally unwell. Pinkie was comforting Rarity who had stopped crying long enough to understand the situation.

"Rarity, could you use your horn to light the area, and stay with Cadence while we go after the girls?"

She nodded to Twilight and her horn lit up, she wiped the tears from her eyes and sat next to Cadence.

Twilight looked back at the remaining three. "Rainbow and Fluttershy, you go down the right hallway. One of the girls headed that way and there is a storage closet not too far in with candles."

"B-but shouldn't we… stick together?" Fluttershy suggested.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I'll protect you Fluttershy, and we need the light. We can't just sit here all night. I have to find Scoot!" She stamped her hoof.

Fluttershy knew she would regret it if she didn't try to help and as such agreed with Rainbow.

"If you find one of the girls bring her back here immediately candles or not. I don't want them to," Twilight paused for a moment. "end up like Spike."

Pinkie Pie and Twilight turned away and both teams of ponies headed in their assigned direction.

* * *

'If only I could see. If only I knew this place better. Oh Apple Bloom, where could you be?!' These were the thoughts rushing through her mind as she rushed through the castle.

Applejack managed to get deep into the castle, finding the moderately stocked library that Twilight had been organizing ever since the tree library had exploded.

"Apple Bloom! Anypony!"

A light was shining at the end of the other side of the library. She decided to investigate it further as it could be one of her friends, or the killer themselves.

Rows of bookshelves both empty and full were to her left and right.

The pony had their back to Applejack as she crept up onto them.

'It could be one of my friends. I best not hurt them.'

She reached her front hooves back and slammed the pony right in the cutie mark, knocking them to the ground.

"Woah hey hey!" The male pony stumbled to get back up.

The pony quickly turned around for fear of being hit again, only to reveal it was Shining Armor.

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry. I wasn't sure who it was so I just thought I'd put you on yer rump." She quickly apologized.

Shining stood up and shook off her apology. "Look, I found this." He lit up the area in between two of the bookshelves, revealing a small bloody knife. It was the same that was used to cut the cake.

"Oh mah stars! Grab it and I reckon we can use it to defend ourselves!"

He shook his head. "It's evidence. If I touch it we could be tampering with who used it last. Even if it was magic we can still gain the residue of the last pony who used it. Let's tell Twilight about it, but no one else. We can't let anypony try to destroy evidence."

"Why on this green earth would we not tell everyone else? Why would somepony from our group want to destroy evidence?"

He held his head back for a moment. "Because there is no one else except us in this castle." He looked her straight in the eyes. "I guarantee it."

Applejack stepped back, trying to comprehend what he said. "If… if you're sayin'… Then I…"

She turned away. "I gotta find Apple Bloom!" Sweat dripped from her brow.

She sprinted off more determined than ever to find her sister, and no darkness was going to stop her.

"Wait! At least let me light the path! We'll be safer together!" Shining called out to her, taking a few steps after her then stopped.

'But what if she's the killer?'

He turned his head back and lit up the knife, a deep frown on his face.

'Better safe than sorry.'


	4. Chapter 3: Midnight

**Chapter 3: Midnight**

Cadence and Rarity sat at the entrance, the light from Rarity's horn barely holding back the encroaching shadows. Cadence refused to open her eyes. She had figured that the darkness inside her eyes was better than the cold unforgiving darkness that surrounded her.

"I'm sorry… I wish I wasn't so afraid." Cadence said in a hushed tone to Rarity.

"Nonsense. We all have fears. After tonight I'm afraid I'll never return to this castle simply out of fear of what's happened." Rarity replied, trying to comfort Cadence a little.

A silence remained between the two.

Suddenly a scream could be heard from up the stairs.

Rarity perked her head up, shining her horn towards the staircase to see if there was anypony there. Cadence peered her eyes out to see the light but was too afraid to look into the darkness for more than a moment, again closing her eyes.

"Cadence… I'm sorry." Rarity stood up. "I have to go to the scream. That could be Sweetie Belle and I won't let anything happen to her."

Cadence reached for Rarity, but couldn't feel her with her eyes closed. "Please, don't go. It's not safe."

Rarity looked back down at Cadence. "I'm sorry. Just, go to sleep or something. Try not to let your fear overcome you. I'll be back in a little bit."

She trotted off in search of the scream.

Cadence was alone and she could feel the darkness all around her. Tears rolled down her face as she wished she could fight her fear. There was always somepony to comfort her whenever she was afraid, but this time there was no pony.

'Why am I so useless? Why am I even an alicorn? I don't deserve such a power when I can't even open my eyes to light my own path.'

Cadence had started to break down, her mind slipping in the darkness. More and more of her fears plagued her once they found an opening. The thought of gore and slimy bugs surrounding her became more than she could bare.

She could hear the clattering of hooves getting close to hear.

Was there anypony even there? Was it a trick of her mind?

'For an alicorn of love I'm not even helping the ones I love.'

She covered her head with her front hooves and started to cry and sniffle. Reduced to a foal afraid of the monsters in their closet, covering their head with their blanket.

* * *

"Here's the closet. I think…" Rainbow said as she opened the door.

Fluttershy wandered inside, feeling the walls and shelves with her wings. "This is it Dash. I don't know if it has candles but I feel shelving." She continued to feel around, trying to get some semblance of what was inside.

Rainbow Dash felt along the other walls shelves. "Hey Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"Why aren't you afraid?"

Fluttershy paused for a moment.

"I'm terrified."

"Then, why are you helping me search in the darkness?" Rainbow turned to her silhouette, poking her with her one still functioning wing.

Fluttershy turned to Rainbow to give her answer. "I'm the element of kindness," She paused, then turned back to feeling the shelves. "but when we find out who killed Spike, I will be anything less than kind. I don't want that to happen to any pony else. I'll be as brave as I can, but that doesn't mean I don't want to scream and cower in a corner."

Rainbow Dash smiled in the darkness, surprised and saddened were mixed on her face. It was a great sight to see Fluttershy finally being brave, but it was a shame it had been under the worst circumstances. Fluttershy was known for running away, and Rainbow knew it was only a matter of time before her fear subdued her.

"I found matches!" Fluttershy said, snapping Rainbow out of her thoughtful stupor.

"Good, the candles should be near them right?" Rainbow extended her hoof next to Fluttershy, finding the candles. "Yes! Oh yeah! First try! Well, sorta…"

She pulled out a long skinny candle. Fluttershy stepped on the match pad and struck a match with her wing.

They lit the candle together and brightened the storage closet.

"That's better." Rainbow said.

They looked around the closet that was now shining bright.

"Oh, good look this'll help." Fluttershy noticed a lantern cover.

Rainbow placed in the candle inside the lantern and closed its cover. "We should take some of these back to the front, maybe help light up the place if the lights don't come back on."

"Good idea Dash!" Fluttershy replied and started to search for a knapsack of sorts in order to carry the matches and candles.

Rainbow walked out into the hall to peer down both of the opposing pathways, the door was opened to the hallway. She decided to make sure no one was behind the door, a cliché she had worried would scare them.

"Uh, Rainbow? The light?" Fluttershy said.

"Oh, right." She quickly scanned behind the door and turned back to the closet.

"Alright well I've got it mostly in this one bag. We should be good to go." Fluttershy grabbed the knapsack with her mouth and turned to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow held the lantern in her mouth and tried to speak "Let's go."

Fluttershy nodded as Rainbow started to walk down back to the entrance. Fluttershy closed the closet door with her wing so that no one would run into it, but did not look as it closed.

Unbeknownst to her a pony was behind the door. A dark black mask that resembled a pony's skull was worn by this unknown pony. The eyes of the skull mask were painted red, and it was large enough to cover the question of whether or not they had a horn.

This pony wore clothing to cover up their fur and cutie mark, and if they had wings. They hid their tail inside these clothes. It was a simple style though, a white shirt and light blue overalls. It was something easy for any race of pony to get in and out of quickly.

It tilted its head as it watched Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash walk away, perhaps unsure whether to wait to strike, or wait to play.

* * *

"Pinkie, please stay close to my light." Twilight said anxiously to the pink pony who was bouncing around in the hallway in front of her.

"Sorry Twilight, I'm trying to keep myself in high spirits." She stopped and moved close to Twilight. "I don't wanna freak you out or anything or scare myself or scare our friends or scary anypony we might run into unless maybe-"

"Pinkie! Please!" Twilight shouted and stomped her hoof.

"Sorry! Quiet!" She covered her mouth and made a zipper motion.

Twilight sighed and continued on. They took the stairs and were close to Twilight's bedroom. After reaching the final flight of stairs, Twilight took a moment to shine further down the hall in order to make sure no one was in the darkness. There were a few spare bedrooms and Spike's bedroom in this hall, but they weren't going to check them all.

They started out looking for the girls, but Twilight knew she kept her specialty magic books in her own bedroom. Perhaps there was one to break the spell on the castle.

"Here's my room, let me shine in first just in case." Twilight said as she opened the door.

She shined the light amongst the walls and towards the opposing door. Nothing that could be seen. She walked in and used her magic to raise the sheets covering her bed.

"Better safe than sorry, but it looks clear, come on in."

Pinkie waltzed in and went straight for the opposite door. She tried to tug and pull but it wouldn't budge.

Twilight busily started her search for barrier breaking spells.

"Hey, why's this door not opening?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight shined her light at Pinkie. "Oh that? It goes to the balcony. I didn't expect it to open." She turned back to her books.

"Shoot… And we were doing so well." Pinied sighed. "So what's the name of this book?"

"Counter-Defensive Spells for the Magic Inclined."

Pinkie looked at a book on Twilight's nightstand. "Is it this one?" She lifted it up.

Twilight turned and lit up the book. "That's it! How'd you find it so quickly?!"

"I can barely see in front of my nose Twilight, I picked it up and made a guess." She giggled and snorted.

Twilight rolled her eyes and walked over to Pinkie.

"Okay, let's see here." She sat the book on the bed, quickly flipped through the pages trying to find something or anything that would get them out of the nightmare.

Pinkie wandered towards the door as Twilight studied. "I'll watch the entrance. Make sure no sneaky sneaks are sneaking up on us!"

"Uh huh." Twilight replied, lost in her own little endeavor.

Pinkie poked her head out, looking left and right.

It was dark, and with no magic she could barely see anything.

"I'll giggle at any ghosties that come my way." She said, unsure of herself.

She walked out into the hallway and started to stomp her hooves out of nervousness. She turned to look at the stairs.

Her stomp seemed out of rhythm and she stopped to listen. She had heard something.

She turned around to the other end of the hallway and worriedly said, "H-hello? I-is… somepony there?"

The strike of a match could be heard, and then a candle was lit. It illuminated the black mask, heavy breathing coming from inside.

"W-who..er..w-w-what are you?!" Pinkie started to yell as she stared at the ominous figure, her hair deflating from its puffy style.

Twilight looked up from the book when she heard Pinkie's yelling.

Suddenly the door to Twilight's bedroom slammed.

"Pinkie?!" She ran to the door and tried to open it with her magic to no avail.

"Twilight! HELP ME!" Pinkie screamed as she slowly backed up.

The skulled pony started to walk towards her, placing down the candle and leaving it behind.

"Please! You don't have to do this." She continuously backed up, preparing to run.

The skulled pony stopped, tilted its head, and reached into its overalls.

"W-what?" Pinkie started to turn back to the stairs, keeping her eyes on the masked figure.

Twilight slammed on the bedroom door, first with her own hooves then sending her furniture ramming with her magic, but to no avail.

"PINKIE! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"

Removing its hoof from the overalls revealed a small brown sacks not much bigger than their hoof. Pinkie started to book it as the skulled pony threw it to the ground.

Small cherries rolled all over the top of the stairs as Pinkie tried to run down.

The cherries were hard and round, easily stepped upon. These cherries and her speed down the stairs faulted her, as she slipped on some of the cherries coming from behind her.

She let out a loud scream.

The loss of her balance caused her to tumble down the stairs, screaming the entire way.

Her first bounce smashed her front right leg against the step.

The second bounce she slammed down on her butt, causing her to fall foward.

Right at the final step of this stair case, she landed with a gut curdling snap of her neck.

Cherries slowly rolling down the steps, landing in front of and against her corpse.

The once puffy pink hair, now fallen flat, covered her lifeless gazing eyes.


	5. Chapter 4: Every Minute Counts

**Chapter 4: Every Minute Counts**

"PINKIE!" Twilight yelled, still slamming on the door.

She stepped back and aimed her horn for a blast at the hinges, quickly melting them.

It fell with gusto, slamming the ground, kicking up dirt and dust.

She coughed and quickly shook it off, jumping over the door and rushing out the room.

"Pinkie? Pinkie Pie! Where are you!?" She yelled as she lit up the hall.

She scanned the hall trying to find anything of semblance. The dark walls of the hall revealed nothing in her search. As she walked out into the hall she stepped on a plump green cherry.

"What in Equestria?" She raised the slightly smooshed cherry with her magic to get a better look at it. 'Where did these come from?' She thought.

She walked to the stairs and pointed her horns illumination down to light her path through the red and green cherries, finally finding the pink ponies corpse.

"Oh no…" Tears filled her eyes as she rushed cautiously down the steps, careful to not share the same fate.

"No no no no no! This can't be happening! This CAN NOT be happening!"

She reached the corpse and circled it, she pushed the hair covering Pinkie's face, showing her dimmed pupils.

"Pinkie… Who was it Pinkie?" She cried as she laid down next to the lifeless body. "Oh Pinkie…"

Twilight grabbed Pinkie's corpse and held it close to her, the tears wetting her pink fur.

"I-I.. I just.."

One of the few times in her life she was truly at a loss, unable to comprehend the scene or any reasoning to its cause.

* * *

A scream could be heard by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. These two ponies were making their way back to the entrance when they heard the yell. They were only feet from the bottom of the stairs that which lead back to the entrance.

"I'm so lost Rainbow Dash. This place is too confusing at night."

"Listen, I think the scream could be heard this way." Rainbow replied.

They were deep in the back section of the castle, nothing was truly around as Twilight did not have much material items to actually fill every room. This section stored the books that had yet been hauled up the stairs to be categorized.

Rainbow used her wing to raise the lantern to one of the piles. "There sure are a lot of books that were salvaged from the library. I'm honestly surprised. Wonder if she was able to save any Daring Do's?"

"No! NO! PLEASE!"

Fluttershy let out a quiet scream and hid with her tail covering her face.

"Who and where was that?!" Rainbow scanned the room. "It sounded like Scoots!"

She burst off, running as fast as she could to where the ponies voice came from. "I'm coming Scoots!"

"Rainbow wait up!" Fluttershy said as she tried and failed to keep up with Dash.

Rainbow Dash quickly found a crystal door that had been half blocked by a pile of books, though the door knob was reachable without removing the pile. This was the room that the voice was coming from. She quickly started to throw the books out of the way.

Fluttershy slowly caught up to Rainbow Dash and saw what she was doing. She panted trying to catch her breath to speak. "Rain- Rainbow Dash!"

"Help me move these books!" Rainbow commanded as she was bucking the book mound out of the way.

"For goodness sake Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy rolled her eyes at Rainbow, moving past her and grabbing the handle, opening the door. "It opens inside!"

Smoke exhaled from the room once it opened and Fluttershy rushed inside the room.

Rainbow slapped her own face with her hoof, and quickly got up and headed inside.

Screaming could be heard the entire time she wasted on the pile of books. Once inside they saw the reasoning behind it.

The screaming was silenced before they got in, as the fire had moved past the body and onto the head.

The foal was strapped to a pole and surrounded by newspapers. As the paper burned, so did the pole and the filly tied to it. The last few bits of purple mane burned off as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy approached the pole.

"Scoots…" Rainbow said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Fluttershy put her front leg around Rainbow Dash and burrowed her head into Rainbow's neck as she cried.

Rainbow stared as the flesh dripped like chili falling from a spoon onto the burning newspapers, a sizzling and pop could be heard for every drip. The face puffed and charred as it burned.

She felt as if it was her fault, that she could have stopped this. The feeling that she needed to punish herself by watching the fire burn would be too much for any other pony to handle.

Her anger was rising uncontrollably, she was about to burst into a frenzy, and then everything went black.

Her body went limp. Fluttershy felt Rainbow's body push against her face as she opened her eyes. Dash's body fell to the ground, out cold. "Rainbow?" She looked up at what could have caused it, unfortunately at the wrong time. She was bucked in the face and, like Rainbow, was out cold.

* * *

Shining Armor had lost Applejack. He had returned to the Dining Room for a quick snack. He knew that the running and the magic use would drain his energy, and if he was going to defend his family and sisters friends he would need all the power he could muster. This was guard training 101.

He was unable to find anything worth eating and headed for the kitchen. As he came upon the kitchen he could hear the rain hitting the castle and ground. A light shined in the room, but the rain covered any sound that emanated. He quickly dimmed his horn to catch whoever was inside. Peeking through the opening of the double swinging doors revealed nothing but a candle on a counter.

'Alright. One, two, three!' He thought as he pushed open the left side and pointed his horn.

No one was inside the kitchen. The opposing door was open, an _outside_ door was open.

"What? How can this be?" He said and drew close to the backdoor.

He noticed the muddy hoofprints, the pony who came in knew how to clean off mud from their hooves as the prints stopped half way from the door.

He ran outside into the rain. He needed to make a decision. Leave to get help, or try to escape with everypony.

'The door could be sealed back up if I don't leave now. It may prove fruitless to bring everyone to the kitchen.' He debated with himself.

It did not take long for him to decide. He used his magic to shoot a bolt into the sky to try and send it above the clouds. The bolt exploded into several pink and purple lights lasting for a bit. This was the Canterlot Royal Guard's distress signal. If anyone saw it they'd come to the rescue.

He turned back, soaking wet and went inside. He illuminated the kitchen again, as the candle had been snuffed out by the wind.

When he lit up the kitchen two filly sized bodies were swinging upside down tied by rope from their back legs to the ceiling, above the kitchen burners. Their faces were covered in dried mud.

Shining looked on in horror as the bodies finished their swing. He rushed over and smashed open one of the mudded masks.

The dirt fell apart easily revealing the filly. It was Sweetie Belle. The mud had suffocated her, suffocated both the fillies.

He turned away in horror, the sight of children being mutilated was far more than he could handle. His stomach couldn't take it, and he began to violently vomit on the ground. Perhaps this was a good thing, as once he finished he looked up at the cabinets.

Painted in blood red the words "Your wife" could be read.

The look of shock and horror filled his face, then turned to anger as he snarled, kicked back, and stomped his feet. He rushed out of the room with his mission in mind.

* * *

The castle was too large for a pony without a light. Applejack had found her way back into the Great Oak Hall. A candle had been lit inside the room by another, and so she was going to use it to light her path back to the others. She stopped before Spike's corpse, staring down at it, her depression had reached its boiling point.

"I'm so sorry for yah Spike. I can't seem to find anypony anymore." She said as she sat down and lowered her hat over her face, her blonde mane dirtied from the sweat of all her running.

"I don't know if the others are safe. I can't even find mah lil' sister."

She got up and walked over to one of the catering tables filled with snacks. The cake for Spike's party laid half eaten. She knocked over the cake, and pushed the plates off of the table to retrieve the table cloth. There were food stains and crumbs all over it, but Applejack felt she needed to cover Spike.

She placed the tablecloth over Spike. "I'll never get to tell yah now, will I little guy?" She looked down at the sheet and let out a drawn out sigh. She turned and grabbed the candleholder from the opposing table and headed out of the room.

Now that she could see, nothing was going to stop her from finding the others and her sister. As she stepped out the door she could hear the galloping of hooves coming from down the hallway.

She could tell that they were on the stairs, but was unable to tell if they went up or down.

Applejack walked the hall slowly, remembering her first time walking through that very passage after the defeat of Tirek. She would give anything to go back to fighting large horned creatures, even if it meant being a prisoner again.

She shook her head.

'Can't let myself think those nasty thoughts.' She thought to herself.

Continuing on down the stairs gave her an uneasy feeling. She knew that something had happened to more of her friends, and as much as she tried to push the feeling away, she knew she was being honest with herself.

* * *

Twilight had laid her beds blanket over Pinkie's corpse. She stood over her body crying, tears staining the purple comforter.

She was too depressed and stressed to fight, sitting alone without even her horns own illumination. Losing two of her friends in the same day was far more than she could handle, for anypony to handle.

She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Who goes there?" She turned to the steps, illuminating her horn.

"It's me," the voice yelled out as they climbed the stairs. "Rarity."

Rarity's horn illuminated the top steps as she reached the second level. Twilight moved in front of Pinkie's corpse to not cause panic within her emotional friend.

"I'm sorry darling, I couldn't stay with Cadence any longer. I had to see if I could find-" She stopped as she reached the top, noticing the blanket. The horror on Twilight's face said everything. "P-Pinkie…?"

Twilight looked away, rubbing her tears away. She looked back and nodded at Rarity, unable to speak.

Rarity's eyes watered, but she shook her head flinging the tears away.

"No, no more crying Twilight. Whatever is causing this needs to be stopped. It's hurt too many of our friends." She stomped her hoof. "Tell me, where are all the doors out of your castle?'

Twilight let out a sniffle and rubbed her eye. "Well, there's the front, the kitchen, the backdoor where I had the books brought in. Then there's the balcony in my bedroom and the guest bedroom. Spike wanted one but I said-" She paused. "…That's all the doors."

Rarity frowned, nodded and replied, "Well let's check each door and window to see how the intruder got in. I'll head to the backdoor, you go for the kitchen."

She turned and started to walk down the steps. "Oh, and if you find any of the girls please bring them back to the entrance. I do hope nothing happened to them." Her nonchalant care of her sister had struck a nerve in Twilight.

'Why was Rarity so unmoved that she had yet to find her sister?' She thought to herself, as she too started down the steps.

Then it hit her. 'Whoever the killer was better not run into Rarity, as I'm sure we'll be unable to get any answers after she's done with them.'

A look of pleasure and horror was on Twilight's face. A part of her didn't want Rarity to find the killer, another part wanted to watch what Rarity was going to do to them if she did.


	6. Chapter 5: One, Two, Three's a Crowd

**Chapter 5: One, Two, Three's a Crowd**

Twilight had returned to the entrance with no sign of Cadence or her friends. The foyer was lit up with candles, brightening the yellow coloring of the entrance's door and the base of the stairs. She had wondered why Cadence would have moved if Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had returned with the candles and lit the area.

'Perhaps they all headed off together to find the Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle?' She thought, as she examined the door.

She took a moment to think of all the spells that might help break this barrier. The earlier panic had drifted from her thoughts. She tried to melt the hinges again but to no avail, her magic could not reach past the mysterious barrier. Teleportation smacked her into the wall of the castle.

'It's like it's a bubble or a dome that fits perfectly to the structure of the castle. Only someone with great magical capabilities could do something like that. The last time I heard of a fitted barrier was in the books of Star Swirl the Bearded at the Castle of the Two Sisters.'

As she headed for the kitchen she tried desperately to figure out how to bring down the cursed barrier. She had forgotten to bring the book down that contained the information for the shield breaker spells, and was unsure if she could bring herself back up past Pinkie.

She turned the corner to the corridor that contained the door to the kitchen. When she did she was met with a roaring fire that burned the entire hallway. Flames rose to the ceiling in an orange inferno. A pony in a black mask and overalls stood in the middle staring at her. The masked pony was untouched, a circle around it clean of any fire as if the entire air was chilled or frozen in time.

Her mouth dropped, horrified and bewildered by the scene she closed her eyes out of freight. When she reopened them the fire and masked pony was gone, the hall remained empty and the only light shun from the kitchen.

"I-I'm losing it." She said, confused and beginning to cry.

She shook her head, "No. No! I'm fine."

Taking a deep breath, she closed then reopened her eyes and continued on. Perhaps wishing she hadn't as she entered the kitchen.

The two fillies still hung from the ceiling, candles lit the room, and the opposing outside door was closed. Red paint had been rubbed all over the cabinets, hiding any lettering that may have once been there.

Twilight stared at the dangling corpses. Tears started to fall from her eyes. She rushed over to them and saw that one of the dirt cocoons had been busted open, showing Sweetie Belle's cold, dimmed face.

Anger started to boil inside of Twilight. She quickly smashed open the other cocoon revealing Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom appeared to have been in more pain with a bloody cut below her eye, mud and dirt fell from her mouth. Not only was she suffocated but choked at the same time.

Taking a step back, Twilight realized that her emotions could not take her over, if she was going to find the culprit she needed to understand all the evidence.

She looked at the fillies cocoons and started to scan the ceiling and floor, finally stumbling across muddy hoof prints. Two sets, one that ended near the counter and the other leading out the door.

"Examining the hoof prints shows two different sized hooves. Both had access to the outside and one mysteriously disappears where the other continues on. Perhaps one pony snuck up on the one at the counter?" She paused. "…Or what if there are two ponies working together?"

The idea sent a shiver down her spine.

'If the killer is one of us, could it also be possible to be two of us?' She knew at that instant, there was no outside culprit. Perhaps there wasn't even just one killer.

She grabbed one of the candlesticks with her wing, wanting to conserve her magic for a pony that deserved it. At that moment she remembered that she sent Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy off to get candles.

'If there were indeed two murderous ponies on the loose, a duo who was friends much longer than anypony else would definitely work.' The thought turned her face sour. 'What would be their purpose of starting with Spike?'

Twilight took one quick scan of the room, satisfied with all the evidence she obtained she felt ready. She looked one last time at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's dangling corpses.

She backed out of the kitchens double doors, "I'll find who did this and make them pay. I swear it." She rushed off back to the entrance.

As she entered the foyer she could hear the rain hitting the door and windows harder, the storm getting worse. She headed down the other side of the stairs and continued down the corridor she had sent Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The candlestick lit her way, but not as well as her horn could.

She came to the storage closet and looked inside. All the candles and matches were gone but there was no sign of the two pegasi. She continued to search the hall.

Twilight passed many doors as she came to the steps to the basement, a light could be seen at the bottom next to a pile of books. As she stopped at the top her candle was blown out.

She felt something behind her and quickly turned around, lighting her horn as well.

The pony in the black mask was standing behind her, rubbing a bloody knife against the neck of their shirt - smearing the blood.

Twilight was immediately terrified, letting out a loud scream. She backed up and fell down the steps, dropping her candlestick. Luckily for her the steps were not nearly as tall as the ones leading to her bedroom. She got up and shook her head, then looked up at the top of the steps.

The masked pony's red painted eyes stared down at Twilight, it slowly descended down the steps, still carrying the knife in hoof.

As Twilight looked back up at the masked pony her flight or fight senses took hold. She could not bare to let anyone else get hurt.

Her horn lit up as she let out a magical missile, a powerful blast uncontrolled due to Twilight's anger and desperation. Her emotions running wild.

The blast hit the masked pony, stopping it in its tracks. It tilted its head in wonderment and shook off the blast like it was nothing.

"W-What?! How?!" Twilight yelled at the masked pony.

The masked pony breathed heavily as it continued to make its way down the steps.

Twilight immediately turned around and started running the hardest she had ever ran.

She ran all the way to a second part of the hallway, a crystal door at the end of the passage was open. Several castle banners lined the path. _Death_ , _next_ , and _behind you_ were written on some of the banners in red.

She ran through the open door and slammed it closed.

Looking around the room, she searched for something to barricade the door. Boxes lined the room full of gifts yet to be opened from residents of Equestria congratulating her on her princess-ship and castle.

The boxes came from all over, from Appleloosa to Fillydelphia and Canterlot. All gifts for the princess who defeated Tirek.

Using her horns magic, she shoved several of the boxes against the door. She looked around the room for another opening. The crystalized castle was unfortunately lack in secret doors and hidden pathways.

As she thought on how to escape, a knocking came to the door followed by a slamming. She tried to teleport, but ended the same as when she tried to teleport outside the castle, a slam of her face against a wall.

The masked pony shoved the door open slowly, pushing their masked face through the crack in the door. Its red eyes shown well even in the darkness.

Twilight slammed her body against the boxes to prevent the pony from pushing further in. She concentrated her magic to try and remove the mask. The masked pony pulled its head back to try and prevent its removal. As it pulled back the mask came off, the mysterious pony had pulled their head back behind the crystal door to prevent Twilight from uncovering the truth of who it was.

When the mask came off, Twilight shoved the door closed as the unmasked pony fled.

She let out a short sigh and closed her eyes for a second. She had forgotten she was magically holding the mask. When she opened her eyes the mask was to her face.

As she screamed she threw the mask to the ground.

"Oh… Right." Another sigh of quick relief.

She arose from the ground and lifted the mask for examination. Inside the mask was large enough for a pony with a horn, but contained no specific horn hole. The eye holes were red inside as well, showing that all the pony would see is red. It was a rubbery material, but hard enough to keep its form no matter who wore the mask.

She smelled the inside, a distinct whiff of apples filled her nostrils.

'Apples?' She thought.

Looking around the room she found a purple and yellow knapsack. She threw the mask inside the bag and the bag over her back.

Removing the boxes, she prepared for a fight if the mysterious pony was still there. She threw open the door and pointed her horn, hoping that without its mask it would not be able to resist the bolt again.

Luckily no pony was there.

Cautiously, she lit up the corridor before exiting. A door to her left had been cracked, red light shined very dimly. She peered into the door and saw a pole with the scorched remains of Scootaloo.

She knew it was Scootaloo from the size of the body and the wings. No other distinguishable features were there as the fur and skin had been turned black or simply fallen off the bone.

She quickly shut the door out of abhorrence of the gruesome sight.

Twilight knew it wasn't going to stop until all the ponies were dead, or the killer had been killed. Magic would be useless as an attack, she needed a weapon or an idea.

She quickly turned around and went back into the boxes room, slamming the door shut.

Her mind thought swiftly about what she needed, finding a piece of paper, some ink and a quill. As she found the items amongst the room, she jotted down the entire castle.

"Well, I needed a map of the castle eventually." She said to herself as she mapped the rooms she knew.

As she finished she rolled up the map and tucked it into the knapsack. She opened the door, making sure no one was around, and then closed it. After it was closed she sealed the door shut with her magic, the same magic that was being used to seal her and her friends inside the castle this very night.

'If I check the rooms and then seal the doors, then eventually the killer will be unveiled, or I'll run into my friends.' The thoughts of her plan kept her going as she sealed the door to Scootaloo's corpse.

She noticed that the books surrounding the door had been kicked in all directions.

"Well who would do that to my poor books?" She questioned. "This awful monster dares ruin everything and everypony I love."

As she worked on the door she had wondered what personal vendetta she had caused for this all to have happened.

Twilight stopped and thought about her plan for a second as she finished the seal on the door and moved onto the opposing crystal door across from the book pile.

'I can seal the murderer in a room with this spell. If I can't break their magical barrier, there is no way they'll be able to break mine.'

The thought in her plan came together, 'I'll kill it, I'll seal it, or I'll die.'

She nodded to herself, knowing full well what may become of her if she fails.

* * *

She awoke in a haze. The head of her mane being pulled as she was dragged, Fluttershy finally opened her eyes to the sight of the masked pony.

Whoever this pony was had a lot of strength in order to drag Fluttershy by her hair, as she was moved up to the second floor and inside the bathing area.

Fluttershy tried to move her legs, but they were bound together by rope. A second rope was wrapped around her body and neck but did not seem to restrain Fluttershy.

She looked around the bath as she tried to figure out where she was in her disorientation.

The bathing room was the size of a pool, it was meant for many ponies such as the main six to enjoy and relax, while Twilight had a personal bathroom up near her room. It was much like a spa area, and tonight had a seemingly romantic setting. Candles lit the area and a sweet serenade played from the record player, which was clearly moved from the dance hall.

The water area itself was in the middle of the room, a set of four steps could be used to get in and out of the water. This allowed any pony to completely submerge themselves while others could enjoy just their hooves or lower halves in the water.

As of that time there was no water to be found, and Fluttershy soon felt that as the masked pony dragged her down the steps into the bath, hitting her head on every step.

An "ow" could be heard for every hit. The masked pony dragged her to the middle and then looked at her.

"W-what are y-you gonna d-do with me?" Fluttershy asked her captor, struggling in the ropes that bind her.

"Heh, heh, heh." A dark deep voice came from the mask. "Do you like swimming, Fluttershy?"

The masked pony spoke in a strange tone that resembled a voice changer.

She had heard the voice before, it was almost her voice when touched by the poison joke plant.

Fluttershy stared at the masked pony in horror, trying to comprehend their question as she started to tear up.

"What's the matter Fluttershy? Do you like my voice? I, _misplaced_ , my other mask. I like this one more, it allows me to speak to you before you… _succumb_. It's so much easier to breathe too."

The voice sent spears of anguish into Fluttershy's heart. She began to cry hysterically.

"W-why are you doing this to m-m-me?" She said as she closed her teary eyes, pressing her face against the floor.

The masked pony did not answer. It walked away and pushed three small boulders into the spa one at a time. The boulders were about the size of Fluttershy's head, easily comparable in size as they were shoved next to her.

Fluttershy nervously looked at each of the boulders behind her back and in front of her. The masked pony took the rope that was tied around Fluttershy's neck and tied it to two of the boulders. The remaining boulder was tied directly to her back and around her stomach so that she couldn't move her body very well, only her neck.

"Ple- please!' She whimpered.

"You've been a _very_ bad girl Fluttershy." The dark voice said. The masked pony walked over to some towels that sat on a purple cushioned bench outside the bath. The towels were white with gold trimming, a gift from Rarity or perhaps for herself whenever she visited Twilight. The pony shoved the towels into each of the drains, preventing the water from escaping the pool.

"Listen, whatever I've done I'm s-sorry! Just please, don't!" She cried and begged to her captor. She laid her head onto one of the boulders that tied to her neck for fear of what she knew would come next.

Another chuckle came from the mask.

"You will be sorry Fluttershy, but don't worry. I'll _wash away_ your sins." It said as it walked out of the pool.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" She cried and protested, wiggling her body as hard as she could.

The masked pony turned on the faucet, letting the raging water flow into the bath. The water would take some time before it would ever fully cover Fluttershy or flood the room.

She screamed and yelled, panicking and squirming. "Please, stop!"

"Ok." The masked pony said as the water was turned off.

"W-what? Real-really?" Fluttershy asked in panted breaths.

"No." They replied as they turned back on the water, followed by a truly blood curdling laugh – one that could strike fear in even the eldest of ponies.

Fluttershy screamed in terror, calling for help.

The masked pony filled a metal bucket from the raging faucet, and carried it over to Fluttershy.

"Hey Fluttershy, what's soaking wet and clueless?" The murderous pony asked.

"N-n-no no no!"

" _Your face_." The pony finished the question for Fluttershy as it poured the water onto her, smashing the bucket over her head. After the bucket was placed on her head, a quick kick to the bucket from the evil pony knocked her out cold once again.

"Now now, you be a quiet Fluttershy. At least until it fills up nice and full, then you can scream all you want. _If you'll be able to_." The voice said companied with a shallow laugh.

The masked pony threw the bucket to the side, as it returned to the faucet, making sure the water on full blast.

The masked pony exited the room, making sure the door was closed behind them.


	7. Chapter 6: Teeth on Hooves

**Chapter 6: Teeth on Hooves**

She entered one of the second floors many hallways and noticed one of the cracked doors was brightened by a light. Dimming her own horns illumination, she cautiously approached the door.

It was a smaller reading room, set up with a small round bed where she and Spike would lay on cozy nights. A pedestal sat up in the corner holding a book, a few comic books lie in another.

Peeking inside revealed the back of Shining Armor. He sat still in front of the bed, under the shine of the disco balls reflective light.

"B.B.B.F.F?" Twilight called out.

She drew close to Shining Armor, unmoved by her presence.

Twilight raised her hoof to tap his shoulder but as she did his head spun around. His eyes were gouged out, his mouth stitched together. She had started to scream as his head fell off from his neck.

The lights darkened, the room became pitch black as the door slammed shut.

She quickly illuminated her horn bright enough to light the entire room.

Shining Armor was gone, the shattered disco ball laid where his head had fallen.

Twilight started to tear up, then stomped her hoof and shook her head.

"What's happening t-to me? Am I… going crazy?"

Her legs shook and she collapsed to the floor.

"I can feel my sanity slipping. It's like I'm losing my mind. I'm even talking to myself!"

The scattered pieces of the disco ball lie in front of her. Her entire body was shaking from her internal doubts, fears, and thoughts.

"Why am I seeing these things? Is it my own fears projecting themselves through my eyes?" She pushed some of the broken shards.

As she pushed the shards away some dirt came off her hoof.

"What? Why are my hooves dirty?" She said as she stared down at her front hooves.

Guilt overcame her and her thoughts. 'What if I'm the killer and didn't realize it? Or even if I am subconsciously and am trying to tell my conscious self?'

She sat in silence, her eyes fixated on the purple soles of her hooves. A slight stain of mud and dirt remained.

"What if I _am_ the killer? Is that why I'm having these visions? Visions of… myself? Did I kill my brother? I saw the masked pony surrounded by fire… and… and Scootaloo."

Tears dropped on her hooves, running the dirt down the sides of her forelegs in muddy trails like rain sliding down a window.

"It all makes sense. Why else would I be unable to take down the barrier unless my subconscious didn't really want to? The masked pony didn't speak at all to me. Maybe the mask I found was my mask?"

She sniveled, tears running down her face, the fur turning even rougher from all the crying she had been doing. Her eyes were red and cloudy, she rubbed the tears away and smudging dirt across her face as well.

"If I am the cause then in this moment of clarity, in this moment of sanity, I know what I must do." Her voice was withered, but as she was only talking to herself the tone did not matter.

Looking at the shattered disco ball, she noticed the rope the once held it in the dance hall.

"I'll stop myself. For Pinkie and the girls." She flew up to tie the rope, using her magic to tie it into a noose.

* * *

Rarity lay next to Spike's bed, her head brushing against the sheets.

She remained this way for a few minutes in dead silence, no tears or whining.

Her attitude was calm for the situation, but the stress of all the running around had taken its toll.

'This night will end soon.'

Covering her head in the blanket she sighed. The blanket was blue, specifically made for Spike by Rarity herself. She rubbed her face into it, getting a good whiff of Spike's scent.

'I miss you Spikey-wikey.' She thought to herself as she raised her head. Looking around the room showed many of his toys and comic books.

She used her magic to bring down a portrait containing her and the other main five hugging Spike.

"Ohhh, darling." She said as a slam had come from another room.

She perked her head up, listening for any noise that could be heard. A rattling and slamming coming from the other room caused her to get up and peek from the wooden door.

Unable to tell who it was, she decided to get a better look. Perhaps to find a friend, or to find a killer.

* * *

Shining Armor found himself trapped in the third floor bathroom. The entire room was stylized in crystal much like the rest of the castle, except a much whiter coloring compared to the rest of the castle, and styled much like the stereotype that is most bathrooms.

The bathtub was an ivory with its rims a golden tint. The cold water was filled to the brim as if somepony wanted a few hours of relaxation alone and never got the chance. The mirror contained a cabinet, half opened above the sink.

Slamming on the door could be heard by Shining as somepony tried to break it down to get to him.

Shining quickly searched the cabinet behind the mirror trying to find a pair of scissors or something sharp.

"Toothpaste? Come on Twilly, why have a cabinet if you have nothing in it!"

He slammed the mirror shut in an attempt to shatter the glass for a sharp tool of defense.

The door pulled open, the masked pony stared as Shining turned and faced the malevolent pony. He pointed his horn and dug in his hooves. Charging at the masked pony was his last attempt to defend himself, magic proved useless against the disguised.

The masked pony slammed the door as Shining charged, smashing his horn and face against the purple and blue door. A large crack flowed through the crystal as Shining fell to the ground, bleeding and barely conscious.

"Ah ah ah, Shining. You need to be awake to see what happens to you and your wife." The masked pony said as it walked over to Shining.

Shining looked up as the pony grabbed him by his mane and dragged him over to the tub.

"Rubba dub dub. Who's going in the tub?"

The pony shoved Shining's head under the water, as he struggled to push back against the evil pony.

"Oh don't worry Shining, I'm not going to drown you. I've already got someone else on that job for tonight." The masked pony pulled Shining's mane back out of the water, allowing him a moment to catch his breath. "If you however don't stay awake, I can't help it if you drown yourself."

The pony then shoved Shining's back legs over the tub, pushing him down into the bottom of the tub and keeping him there.

"I'd check Twilight's room if you manage to stay alive." The pony said as it let go of Shining.

The masked pony walked out the door, slamming it closed on its way out.

Shining quickly rose his head out of the water, gasping for air. He illuminated the room, hair covered his eyes as he tried to get out of the tub. He fell to the ground face first, slipping on the now wet floor. Blood ran from his nose as he turned the knob with his magic and opened the door.

He grasped a towel and applied pressure as he went out into the hallway, no sign of the murderer. Immediately throwing the towel to the ground and rushing over to Twilight's room, Shining noticed the door had been completely brought off its hinges.

The large wooden door was covered in blood, a candle sat beside some ash on the floor.

Shining jumped over the bloody door and immediately searched the room.

"Show yourself coward!" He snarled, blood dripping down his chin. "What have you done with her?!"

Sparks flowed from the tip of his horn as his fury rose. He let out a blast of energy, breaking a pole of the bed causing the purple tinted see-through canopy to fall to the sheets.

He turned to look around the room but noticed that as the canopy fell, something was out of the ordinary on the bed.

The light flickered from the candle as he moved across the room.

Moving the broken canopy revealed a horn of a pony. It was a pink horn that largely resembled Cadences. The fat end of the horn looked like it was sawn cleanly and meticulously right off its owner.

Shining knew what had happened, he grabbed the horn with his teeth and jumped back over the door.

* * *

The noose had been tied to beam attached to the ceiling and wrapped around her neck. She held in her place flapping her wings as she prepared to simply let go of it all.

'This is it. Just stop flying Twilight. You can do it.'

She gulped, closed her eyes, and stopped her flying. Just as she did the door slammed open.

Startled, she quickly grabbed the rope and held herself steady, looking down at the lone pony entering the room.

A black mask covered their face, Twilight recognized the outline of who it was.

"Twilight. Where did you go, my little pony?" The masked pony said in its deep dark stallion-like voice.

'Wait. Did he just talk?' Twilight thought. 'If that thing can talk, then it's not me?! I'm not crazy?!'

A big smile appeared on her face as she removed her head from the noose.

"I'm not crazy!" She yelled, raising her hooves to the air and flapping her wings. Quickly covering her mouth after she realized her mistake.

The pony looked up at Twilight and tilted its head in amusement and intrigue. The red eyes of the mask looked to have lit up in glee, almost as if they were a filly excited to enter an amusement park.

"There you are. I was getting worried. What's the matter? Trying to take the easy way…" The dark voice paused for a moment. Pulling out a knife from the shirts collar, it continued. "…out?"

The masked pony threw the knife at Twilight. She managed to dodge with her body but the blade sliced her wing and struck the crystal ceiling, bouncing off and falling to the ground with Twilight.

Blood spewed out from the severed tendon of her wing, hitting her face and blinding her eyes as she slammed the ground.

She wiped her eyes with her hoof as the masked pony walked over to her. As she looked up from clearing away the blood the pony grabbed her, putting its arm around her neck.

Twilight tried to squirm and struggle as it dragged her out into the hall by her head.

"Oh don't worry Twily, I'm not going to kill you unless I have to."

"Let me g-" She choked a little on her words as she managed to pull herself to her feet.

As she rose she was forced onto a closed door, damaged wing first, following with a shove from the mysterious mask. The door flung open, Twilight fell and rolled onto the floor, blood smearing across it.

"Have fun Twily." The masked pony said, shutting the door.

Her eyes opened to the white ceiling. "Wh… what?" She raised her head to look around, candles shimmering off the water like a full moon on a lake.

The entire room was lit, perhaps the brightest room in the whole castle. Being the brightest, and perhaps the darkest, showered Twilight with dread.

She got up to see three stones in the bath, and one floating yellow furred corpse in the middle.

Her mouth widened, tears pouring down, she jumped into the water and started to swim over.

Blood mixed with the water, turning it a dark muddy red.

She reached the body of Fluttershy, her head and neck still tied to the boulders underneath the water. Twilight was unsure how long she had been under, water still flowed from the faucet.

Using her magic she cut the ropes that bind Fluttershy through use of her magic. As the last rope snapped she grabbed it with her teeth and paddled backwards. Pulling Fluttershy was a challenge as the body had become waterlogged, but Twilight pushed through pulling her friend onto the edge of the bath.

* * *

Shining Armor had jumped over Twilight's bloody door and entered the hallway. As he did the opposing door to the guest room had shut in front of him. He dropped Cadence's horn from his mouth and ran over to the wooden door.

He turned his body around and bucked the door open. Hurling himself into the room, he snarled at the lit up pony.

The blonde hair moved out of her face as Applejack turned to look at him. Three candles lit the guest bedroom, one on the nightstand, two on the desk. It was bright enough to see the multicolored pink piles of hair that lie beneath Applejacks feet.

"You?" He said as he stepped forward, stepping in water. He looked back and noticed the trail led into the room and to the bed. Blue overalls lay across the bedspread.

"S-Shining?" Applejack said, the horror on her face spelled fear from the sudden confrontation.

"You?! What are you doing with my wife's hair?" He charged her, slamming his shoulder into her neck as she flipped over the bed.

She put her arm on the bed and got up to her feet, hat still on her golden locks.

"Now Shining, I know what yah be thinkin' and-" Cut off from her sentence, Shining head butt her square between the eyes.

His horn knocking off her hat as she fell to the ground, blood pouring from her mouth. She quickly rose and slammed her head square into the already bloody chin, sending him back a few feet.

"WHERE IS MY WIFE?!" He yelled as he shook off the blow.

Applejack turned with one swift movement, bucking him in the face and sending him to his back.

She panted, taking a moment to breathe and then answer.

"Listen Shining Armor, I am the element of honesty. If there is anythin' yah can do, it's trusting my words sugarcube."

Shining got back to his feet. He looked at her with sharp, pain-filled eyes.

"If you're the element of honesty, then quit skipping around the explanation!" He barked as he pointed his scratched horn at her and shot out a blast.

Applejack was lucky to be so fast, as she quickly jumped backwards out of the way. Burns marks now etched into the guest beds wooden footboard.

"Your sister wouldn't like you doin' this Shining." She yelled from behind the side of the bed. "Just stop and we can talk this over."

As he rounded the bed to face her, the door screeched open as another entered the room. He looked away from Applejack to see who the new face was and as he did Applejack took the opportunity to strike. Bucking him backwards into the desk, toppling it forward onto the ground with him. The candles on the desk went dark in the fall, dimming the room.

Shining quickly got up and shot another blast at Applejack, grazing her cheek and causing blood to trickle down her face.

Applejack returned in kind, grabbing him in a bear hug with her arms around his neck, wrestling him to the floor.

The mysterious third pony walked over slowly to them as Shining got the upperhoof. He slammed his hooves down onto her arms, pinning her to the ground.

'Where is my WIFE." He screamed in her face.

"She's dead."

* * *

Twilight quickly tried to resuscitate Fluttershy, unbeknownst to her if she was recoverable. She had excelled in the study of CPR much like most of her academics.

'Don't press on the chest. Wait three seconds. Three. One-hundred presses every minute, come ON!' She thought to herself, reassuring the basics.

A few deeps breaths into Fluttershy's mouth amounted to nothing.

"No. NO!" Twilight yelled as she slammed her hooves on Fluttershy's chest. A burst of water threw up from Fluttershy's mouth as she did.

Fluttershy's eyes opened as she spat out more water.

"T-T-Twilight?" She said as she looked upon Twilight's smile. Tears ran down her wide smiling cheeks and onto Fluttershy's face.

Fluttershy's red eyes teared up at the sight of her friend crying over her. "T-T-Thank you…"

Her face then turned from a teary smile to a grimace as Twilight replied.

"I can't believe you're alive! I thought you were a goner for-"

Twilight was cut off.

A hoof on a blade, one quick stab from a knife pierced Fluttershy right through the throat. The masked pony stood behind Twilight, arm over her shoulder.

"Mind if I _cut_ in?"


	8. Final Chapter: Time

**Final Chapter: Time  
**

"I suggest you _run_." The pony in the black mask said as it pulled the knife out of Fluttershy's neck.

Blood spewed out of her neck spraying hard, covering Twilight's face from horn to chin. The life drained out of Fluttershy's eyes, her mouth filled with blood.

"I-I-I…" Twilight stuttered with tears running down her face, blood streaking with it.

She turned her head to the open door the murderer entered through. The pony in the black mask had stepped backwards away from Twilight, but only to rub the bloody knife against its overalls to clean it for the next kill. Dropping Fluttershy, she booked it for the door. As she got out of the door she turned around and slammed the door closed, then melted the hinges with her magic just for good measure.

Knowing that there were other doors to the bath she turned back to the hallway.

She drew her full attention to the wall in front of her that had been lit up by candles. The wall itself was covered in blood and the centerfold was the nailed corpse of Rainbow Dash. Six pins held her to the wall, one in each of her legs and wings. Her torso was slit from neck to tail, clearly showing where all the blood was drained from to place on the wall.

"N-n-n… Wh-why." Twilight was slowly devolving in her speech as more of her friends corpses appeared in front of her, diminishing her sanity. The sight also caused her to lose more than her sanity, as everything she had for dinner ended up on the floor, mixing with the blood.

Numbers were written in blood on each of her wings.

'Ten, four, zero, twenty-one, four, eighteen.' Twilight read off the numbers in her head.

"I… I don't…" She said aloud trying to comprehend the reasoning.

A scraping could be heard coming down the hallway as she stared at the painted scene.

As it got louder she turned to see what it was coming from, looking down both sides of the hallway she was in. The hall was a big U-shape that connected both ways back to the stairs, with the bath in the middle.

The noise grew louder, as she turned her head back and forth to see which direction it was coming from. The black mask appeared around the right side's corner, the pony dragging the cleaned knife it used on Fluttershy against the floor. The noise wasn't very loud, but the sound rang out like a stick being dragged on concrete.

Twilight bolted as soon as she knew the direction it was coming. She ran to the stairs, stress clouded her judgement as she ran up the steps past Pinkie's corpse, which had been uncovered. Rushing to the top, she needed to make another decision, four doors in which she could hide.

Choosing the most lit room - she ran for the guest bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She quickly caught her breath before stepping forward, noticing the room had been ripped apart. Blood covered part of the floor and sheets, along with some left over speckles of violet strands of hair.

Cautiously, Twilight approached the opposite side of the bed where the light of the single candle didn't reach. She lit her horn with her illumination spell and the light reflected back at her.

A knife was on display, proudly protruding above several other stab wounds in Shining Armor's back. The knife had clearly been cleaned using his own fur before being stabbed one last time directly into the back of his neck.

"B… B…" Twilight couldn't even finish her nickname for her brother before breaking down in tears.

Just as she began to cry a voice called out to her, tearing her away from her plummet even further into depression.

"Twilight? Twilight. I can't see. Help?" The voice called out.

Twilight raced to the door, tears still filling her eyes as she braced against the door with her body. She put her ear to the crack to hear the voice again.

"Help me. Twilight." The voice called out again.

'That sounded like…'

"Help. Help me."

Twilight opened the door, the voice so familiar to her, but did not ease her mind.

"Cadence? Is that you?" Twilight called out.

"I'm here Twilight. I can't see. Help me." The voice ran out from across the hall in Twilights room.

The door still laid on the floor, but the room was just as dark as the hallway itself. The only light was shining from Twilight's horn.

"Okay Cadence, I'm coming! Just… Just keep calling out to me! Okay?" She yelled, cautiously entering the hall for fear that the murderer would catch her by surprise.

Slowly, Twilight walked towards her room, looking both ways every few seconds. As she reached the middle she stepped and almost lost her balance on a cylinder object on the ground. She regained her footing and heard the object roll all the way to the wall in front of her, hitting it lightly before stopping.

Making her way to the door she looked at what could have been the clutter, illuminating the floorboards. She finally saw the pink pointy horn lying against the wall.

"C-C-Cadence? Hello?!" The knowledge that Cadence didn't have her horn made her feel very uneasy. Cadence was afraid of the dark, would she be alright just sitting alone in the pitch black room? How could her tone of voice be so neutral?

Twilight did not dare enter the room, so she stood against the fallen entrance and illuminated the room with her horn. The light shined like a spotlight against the walls until finally zeroing in on the bed.

To the side sat the figure of a pony who was wrapped in the sheets of the bed, clearly pulled out from under the broken canopy.

Twilight examined the pony closely, noticing that the hair was a light violet with white streaks.

"Cadence? Are you…" Twilight gulped before she continued. "…alright?"

"Twilight? I can't see anything. Help me."

Ignoring her fears, Twilight put both her front hooves onto the collapsed door to climb over. Placing them on the door also placed them directly into the blood that covered it. She quickly pulled back and shined the light down to examine what the liquid was.

"C-Cadence? Whose b-blood is thi… is this?" A ringing started to strike in her ear as she tried to wipe her hooves on the crystal flooring, instead just smearing the blood more.

She quickly looked back up and shined her light at Cadence's figure.

The portions of hair had started to fall down onto the ground, sliding down the sheets. Twilight realized that it wasn't Cadence, and then as if on cue the head slowly turned and the body following. The bright red painted eyes absorbed the light of Twilight's horn, saturating the rest of the room in gray. The last of Cadence's hair fell to the ground in one swift motion, following with the sheet as the masked pony got up.

"Don't you recognize your _own_ blood, Twilight?" The tone of the voice changed mid-sentence from Cadence to the male-like ring it made previously.

Twilight ran without hesitation to the stairs, blood still dripping from her hooves. Mid way through the stair case the blood slipped her up as she fell on her side, slamming Pinkie's corpse as she landed.

She rolled over the corpse of the pink pony, catching her footing as she looked down past the guarding that displayed the first floors foyer. Instead of following the guard rail that ran down the stairs on either side, Twilight made her way down the opposite hallway she had originally went upstairs from.

In this hallway there was a lack of light, and luckily for Twilight - blood and vomit. Near the middle of this hallway was a double door, she quickly slammed them open and entered the dining hall.

It remained one of the few rooms that didn't contain a corpse. She rushed to close the doors behind her and then jumped onto and over the table, hiding behind the chairs that opposed the entrance.

The galloping could be heard getting closer and closer. Twilight readied herself to use her magic to lock herself in like she did with the basement level and first floor's rooms. She knew that the murderous pony was unable to enter the rooms she had sealed but was unsure if she had the ability to unseal her own magic.

As the noise drew closer it all of a sudden got quieter. She could no longer hear the trots of another pony in the hallway. Twilight raised her head to look at the door, making sure it had not already been opened.

Pointing her horn, she felt that sealing the door was probably her only option at this point. The only way to save her life, as the last of her friends may have already been dead.

She unleashed her magic just as the door opened, the magic flowing right past the pony and out into the hallway.

The light lit up the blonde hair of the pony.

"What in tarnation?!" The pony said, startled by the sudden lightshow.

"A-A-Apple… jack?" Twilight raised her head more as she used her magic to light up the doorway.

Applejack looked back towards the table, the light blinding her vision.

"Could you turn down the sun, sugarcube?" She said as she covered her eyes.

Twilight dimmed her horn back to the ceiling, allowing the light to shine all around.

She lowered her hoof and started to walk towards Twilight. "Thanks. I sure am happy to see ya, Twilight."

"Not another step Applejack!" Twilight demanded, knocking a chair down to the floor between them. "You're not to be trusted. No one is!"

Applejack halted herself, shocked by her friend's outburst. "Now just wait ah minute sugarcube. There don't need to be any hostility. I know yer afraid, and I am too but you need to hear me out."

Twilight nodded and said, "I'll listen but don't come any closer." She knew not to rule anypony out, but Applejack was her friend after all.

"Okay, okay, that's fair enough. We've had a rough night but it's not gonna get any better till we finish this. I need yer help to do so. You've gotta trust me Twilight."

"How do I know you aren't the killer?" Twilight replied, knowing Applejack's answer wouldn't be good enough.

"Twilight, I'm the element of honesty. You and I both know that fer a fact. I am not the murder, and I would not go around killin' all our friends."

Twilight rolled her eyes at Applejack. "Okay. Prove it. Show me your hooves." She said as she shined her light down onto Applejack's legs.

If they were muddy, that'd be a good sign she was the killer. Twilight also knew that if they had been super clean, then that'd be an even better sign.

"Mah hooves?" Applejack asked, raising one of her front hooves up to look at it, revealing no sign of mud.

Twilight looked to see how clean they had been.

"What about my hoo-"

Applejack was caught midsentence as a rope was rung and tightened around her neck in a quick instant.

Her horns illumination quickly raised from Applejack's legs to her face, and then followed the rope to the pony who threw it. Applejack was resisting fairly well until she lost footing and was pulled back.

"R-Rarity?!" Twilight yelled.

Applejack struggled and grasped for the rope, but was slowly pulled harder by Rarity's magic.

"Twilight! She's a liar and the killer in the mask! She has been abusing her element to fool us all into believing she's innocent!" Rarity yelled to Twilight, as she raised the rope to the ceiling by use of her magic.

With the rope raising, Applejack struggled harder whilst being lifted off the ground. Her feet kicked and rocked as the rope was tied to one of the beams of the ceiling, part of the birthday decorations for Spike were tied between them.

"I told you Twilight, I would destroy the one who murdered our friends, and especially my sister! I saw her murder your brother in cold blood! I witnessed it as she stabbed him mercilessly!"

Twilight stared as Applejack wriggled about in the rope, gasping for air. She listened to what Rarity was saying, but felt that she was wrong to let it happen.

"How do I know you're telling the truth, Rarity?" Twilight yelled, she grabbed a knife off the table with her hoof.

Rarity shook her head. "You don't. If I was though, wouldn't I be in costume?"

She made a good point to Twilight, and then she added, "Think back to any evidence you may have found and I'll bet it matches what I'm saying!"

Twilight thought back to all the evidence she obtained throughout the night.

Spike had been killed with Applejack's present, a strange way to murder someone. She hadn't seen Applejack for most of the night after they had found Spike's body, although she had seen less of her brother and his wife. Applejack was also the strongest pony of anyone there, she could have easily placed Rainbow Dash against the wall and hammered in the spikes or overpowered Shining Armor.

"But why would she kill her… her own sister?" Twilight asked, confused and starting to understand Rarity's words.

"Because Twilight, how else was she going to not have it pinned on her? Somehow she and her sister were going to be the only two to make it out alive without anyone suspecting her? She's had it planned from the start!"

Applejack slowly started to stop her struggling, unable to break free from the rope. Rarity tied the other end to the leg of the table, releasing her magic.

Twilight stopped to think of the evidence. 'Three large rocks would be pretty difficult for a unicorn whom wasn't the best at lifting heavy things with telekinesis. Was Rarity able to lift them?'

'And the numbers did spell leaves… Would that be the running with the leaves? Could Applejack have left a calling card of resentment for Rainbow Dash?' Twilight contemplated.

"She clearly had outside help Twilight. Magic from the outside is the only way to prevent two alicorns and the captain of the royal guard from tearing down their barrier. We should return to the foyer and wait for the sunrise." Rarity called to Twilight, beckoning her to follow her.

Twilight felt the evidence fit more for Applejack than Rarity. She looked up at Applejack as her struggling finally ceased. Still carrying the knife she walked over to Rarity who held a comforting look.

"I'm so glad you're alright, and I was able to get here on time." Rarity said as she hugged Twilight.

"I just can't believe it, I can't believe it's over." Twilight said, tearing up as she dropped the knife.

"It's alright darling. While it won't bring our friends back or the fillies, at least we can have closure to know we won't be next." She replied, as she let go of Twilight.

Twilight walked through the doorway with Rarity following behind. She turned and took one last look at Applejack's hanging body.

"Why would she do all this? Why drown Fluttershy, or kill Spike? Why do any of this?"

Rarity put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm not sure why Twilight. I don't know why she would suffocate Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, it makes no sense. Why burn Scootaloo instead of suffocating her too? But… I do know that it's over now, and she can't hurt anyone ever again." She smiled at Twilight. "We need to get out of here and contact Luna and Celestia."

Twilight sighed and looked down at the floor. "I know… I know you're right and all." She wiped her eyes from the tears.

"It just leaves so many unanswered questi-" Twilight paused. The look of horror filled her face as she stared at the ground.

'I sent Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to get candles.' Twilight thought. Sweat starting to drip from her brow.

'I was the only one to go to the lower floor except those two.'

Twilight raised her head to look at Rarity. Rarity smiled at her and asked, "Dear, let's go to the exit. Don't let your adrenaline wear off until we are out of here. I'm not strong enough to carry us both"

She stared at Rarity.

'Only me, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were able to see Scootaloo before I sealed it up. No way was anyone getting in after I sealed it.'

At that moment - she knew. Her face said it all.

"Darling?" Rarity said, her smile turned into a concerned look.

The smell of apples returned to Twilight's senses. The same smell that covered the mask she removed in her struggle to close the storage room door. Applejack never smelled of apples, only sweat and the outdoors.

Rarity's face turned from the concerned look to a grimace in an instant. "Darling, you're just too darn _clever_ for your own good."

Twilight slammed her body against Rarity's, knocking her backwards into the dining hall. She then used her telekinesis to grab the knife off the floor.

"Oh please, Rainbow Dash already tried that." Rarity said as she got back to her feet.

As Rarity marched towards Twilight, she threw the knife at Rarity with her magic. Rarity easily dodged out of the way, the knife flying past her into the darkness.

"You'll have to do better than that." She said as Twilight turned and ran for the stairs, Rarity hot on her trail.

Twilight reached the stairs leading down as Rarity caught her, slamming into her with both of them falling down the steps.

As they slammed against the ground, Rarity was the first to get up. She rushed over to Twilight and grabbed her by the mane.

"You." She slammed Twilight's face into the ground.

"Couldn't." She again slammed Twilight's face into the ground.

"Stop." The final slam, blood spewing everywhere.

" **THINKING**!"

Rarity let her mane go with the last slam, then turned her hind legs toward Twilight. She bucked Twilight right in her side, sending her towards one of the windows next to the entrance of the castle.

The thud when she struck the wall resonated amongst the foyer, blood poured from Twilights face as her forehead had suffered a massive scrape.

"Rar… Rarity please… Wha… Why?" Twilight coughed a large portion of blood just trying to make a few words.

" **NO**! Don't you speak to me!" Rarity yelled as she stomped on one of Twilight's legs, causing her to scream out in agony.

Rarity shuffled back and forth in front of Twilight.

"I was going to let you **LIVE**! My element is generosity, and now I have to take my generosity _back_. I've already been more than generous with the amount of blood I have shed!"

Twilight, unable to see from one of her eyes, looked up with the other and asked again, "Wh-why Rarity? Wh… do all of… t-this?"

Rarity turned to her, anger and paranoia had taken a toll on her face. Twilight knew this was a face of a true serial killer.

"Why? You all have made my life MISERABLE! My cutie mark said I was going to be a great fashion designer! Not a fighter of evil, or friendship-fixer-upper!"

She stomped her hooves towards Twilight.

"You want to know why I killed all of our friends?" She paused for a moment. "It's because I knew I could. There was a hole here, it's gone now."

Twilight stared at her, mouth open in amazement.

"That's right Twilight. I've had many instances where I've grown to hate every one of you, but until only recently I was unable to truly feel hate or understand what it meant."

Rarity took a moment to gather herself, prepared for her long awaited speech of killer to victim should it ever arise.

"I've known great happiness, I've known it better than anypony else. That's because I've understood the polar opposite. Something you or any of our friends could never comprehend outside of Discord's magic."

She gave a snooty look to Twilight, something Rarity was not known for doing. Very rarely would should look down on those less fortunate.

"I've felt true hate, and it amplified my past experiences with you all. Take for example, Rainbow Dash having to save me when my wings burnt up in Cloudsdale? Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was? Do you know how much she gloated to me afterwards? On and on, days and days! At the time I was without any form of knowledge on how anger truly felt. Now that I know - I wish she would have just let me become a stain on Equestria's surface, then I wouldn't have to deal with such agony."

Rarity snarled out of anger, the rage building up inside of her.

"How about the time I had to listen to Pinkie Pie talk about cherries while we had to work our way back from Dodge Junction? Actually, that's how I killed her! The cherries rolling her infuriating pink mouth down those steps! It was one of the few moments in my life she truly made me laugh!"

A manic laugh came quickly from Rarity as Twilight laid herself up with her back to the wall. Rarity looked back at Twilight.

"Fine, I guess I should tell you everything." She looked out the window. "It won't be sunrise for quite a while."

"I started with Spike, he was the only one that I wish I didn't have to kill besides you." She said as the outline of her pupils turned green. "But he knew too much, and he could easily have sent a letter to Celestia, warning her and ending my fun too early."

She paused, grinned at Twilight, and then continued as if she was giving a presentation to a class of fillies.

"He found something that unlocked a deeper feeling in me, something that unleashed my magic and taught me how to **HATE**. Of course he didn't know that the book he swallowed didn't wear off completely. Since then I've awakened, I'm able to do more with myself. I've trained not only my magic but my strength as well, all in secret!"

"But… Why have us all killed in the same place?" Twilight asked her, unable to keep her head up to look at her.

"Shush, I'm getting to that! Killing Spikey-wikey was hard, but I knew I had to frame somepony else. There's no one I hated more here than Applejack, and she was the easiest to frame. She was trying to work her moves into my little Spikey and obtain him for herself. I've seen the way she looked at him. I know for a fact that she felt I didn't deserve his affection and attention."

Rarity paused, grinning for a moment. "Of course _I_ showed her. Using her gift to choke Spike, cherries for Pinkie Pie easily also could have come from Applejack as she worked for Cherry Jubilee. And I even wrote the word 'leaves' next to Rainbow Dash. If that doesn't give the guards enough evidence I don't know what will."

Rarity took a moment to catch her breath as she knew her murders would soon be finished for the night.

"Of course not all the kills were to plant evidence. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were suffocated in mud."

Rarity raised Twilight's head to look her dead in the eyes. "Want to know why?" She let go, Twilight's face falling back down into her chest.

"I had to deal with Sweetie Belle for half my life. Constantly annoying me with incredibly trivial things. Like the Sisterhooves Social. Mud just isn't my color. Of course, it suited their faces as I covered them, suffocating, smothering them **HARD**. As for Scootaloo?"

Rarity turned around away from Twilight.

"I decided to tie her to a post and place the newspapers that held articles from that time they decided to share the towns' secrets. I didn't really have a reason to kill her, but I had to anyways. It was incredibly fun, the skin and fur searing from her bone."

Rarity paused and turned her head back to Twilight.

"I had a good reason to kill your brother and sister-in-law, though."

Twilight looked up, anger on her face. She lunged with all her might towards Rarity who immediately bucked her in the stomach, slamming her against the window.

Rarity turned back to Twilight as she slid down to the floor. She then continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

"I didn't open the Canterlot Carousel for a long time. Of course my excuse was because I was looking for the best spot, but you _KNOW_ me Twilight. I've had that spot picked out for **YEARS**! No, I had to wait until the Canterlot ponies forgot about my name."

Her face turned back to anger, her eyes shifted as her nose pointed up. "Do you have any idea how many times I heard the Canterlot elite say 'Isn't she the dress maker for that evil queen Chrysalis?' No one wanted to buy dresses from that dress maker – **NO**! Of course not! It wasn't until you became a princess that they started to say 'Isn't she Princess Twilight Sparkle's friend?' and they completely forgot about the changelings!"

Rarity looked back down at Twilight, her eyes still shadowed with green.

"I could tell you more of the reasons I killed our friends, but let's be honest, the sun is starting to come up and I don't want to be late for the arrival of the royal guard."

She pointed her horn down at Twilight who stared back up with one eye open.

"Shame too, I was going to spare you. If you and I were the ones to escape I'd be hailed a hero. The unicorn who saved Princess Twilight Sparkle! They'd treat me just as highly as they treat you. I'd also be your only friend left, someone you could truly rely on."

Twilight closed her eyes and cried out, "Please Rarity! That could still happen! Just use your powers to make me forget, just don't kill me!"

Rarity sparked her horn up, green magic illuminated into a ball of sparks. Twilight looked up one last time to see that cheek to cheek smile that was lightened by the lightning coil of the white horn.

"But maybe they'll make me a princess instead. The last of the elements. After all, I killed the pony who supposedly killed you. Of course, they won't know that was me. I'll burn your corpse just so they won't detect the magic I'm going to send coursing through your veins."

Twilight sat there in silence, and closed her eyes. A big grin came to her face.

"All that detail you went into, you've got a real eye for it Rarity."

She opened her one working eye.

"It's a shame you missed the only detail that mattered."

Rarity looked up at Twilight, as she still powered her magic, only to notice Twilight staring at her with a smile.

"The knife cut the rope."

The look of horror on Rarity's face as those words were muttered would be described by Twilight as 'priceless'.

A deep kick to the face sent Rarity flying. The magic she had been powering was let loose, blasting the front door off its hinges and into the yard. The blast also pushed Twilight away from the window and onto her back.

Rarity fell hard to the ground as Applejack rushed to her. She quickly rose to her feet and turned at Applejack. As she was about to cast another quick spell, Applejack turned and flipped herself onto her back. She slid on the floor right to Rarity, who was bewildered by her movement for a moment, as Applejack forced her hind legs right into Rarity's chin.

This slammed Rarity to the wall, and as she slid down Applejack got up and rushed to her. Rarity opened her eyes right as Applejack slammed her hoof into her face. Applejack held Rarity steady with one hoof and punched her repeatedly with the other.

Rarity grabbed onto the leg that held her still, trying to force it off of her. With all the physical training she had done, Applejack's strength was still a force to be reckoned with. Her face became more and more bloody and bruised with every hit. Her long speech had released all the adrenaline that she had been using to run, kill, and move bodies. Rarity eventually managed to kick out Applejack's legs, forcing her to fall to the ground.

By the time Applejack was able to get back up, Rarity was on her – arm around Applejack's neck. Rarity started an onslaught of punches to Applejack's stomach as the choking continued.

Applejack started to buck and kick like a bull to try and force her off, finally working well enough for Rarity to fall backwards. As Applejack turned to face her, a quick blast from Rarity's powerful magic sent her into the railing of the stairs. She lay on the first step with her legs resting on the floor.

"You _worthless_ ," Rarity said as she walked towards Applejack, sending a small but powerful blast into one of Applejack's legs.

" _stubborn_ ," She continued, another blast except this time to Applejack's stomach.

" _inbred_ ," Reaching Applejack showed she was still awake, staring back at Rarity as she tried to recover.

" **vermin**." Rarity finished, grabbing Applejack by her mane and slamming her face against the steps edge.

She went to raise Applejack's head again but was stopped by a callout.

"Hey Rarity!" Twilight yelled. "Your hour... is up!"

Rarity looked at Twilight who had charged up the same type of blast Rarity had been charging for herself.

'This is the worst possible turn of events.' Rarity thought.

Twilight launched the ball of sparks at Rarity. Unable to dodge fast enough, she was struck with the ball and the electrocuting force filled her body.

Unfortunately it was true that Rarity had been training her magic and body. The electric shock merely stunned her, but fortunately for Applejack this gave her the chance at a counter.

She bucked with both back legs right into Rarity's dazed face, sending her body to the opposite window of Twilight. The window cracked and almost shattered, revealing to Applejack that Rarity's power had waned.

The moment hurried as Applejack quickly ran to the stunned Rarity. She sat her body on top of Rarity's to prevent a counter movement. Applejack let a volley of punches go, making sure that there was no repeat of the brutal fight Rarity had put up. Blood and bruises appeared more and more on Rarity's face, distorting and disfiguring more of her face. Lumps had swollen up, covering her eyes and puffing her lips. The white furred face had changed to a dark red swelling bulge of flesh and bone.

Applejack panted. She finally let go, stopping the beating. It was clear that no matter if she was still alive or dead, she would be unable to see to get away or operate with the concussion she had received from Applejack's hooves.

She turned to Twilight who watched the savage attack. Even though it was a brutal sight, especially since it was two whom she considered friends of hers, she still smiled at Applejack - knowing that it was over.

Applejack walked over to Twilight and pulled her over onto her shoulder.

"Thank you." Twilight said as she was helped up.

The two ponies maneuvered to the open door, the sun had started to rise in the distance as they made their way outside.

Chariots could be seen in the distance along with many pegasi, all flying towards the castle.

Applejack set down Twilight on her back in the soft grassy yard, then followed up with lying next to her.

"Thank Celestia, the cavalry has arrived." Applejack said. "Late to the party like usual."

Both Twilight and Applejack began to laugh.

* * *

"Twilight, I'm so sorry. We were unable to get here sooner because of the storm." Princess Celestia explained.

"We saw the emergency flare that the royal guard use, but we were unable to figure out where exactly it came from due to the clouds." Princess Luna added.

Applejack and Twilight were on stretchers next to each other and were being loaded into a cart to be taken to the Ponyville hospital. Blankets and a few bandages covered their bodies.

"It's okay. How did you figure out that we needed the help?" Twilight asked.

The sisters looked at each other before finally answering. "One of our pegasi scouts managed to work its way after the storm had cleared and saw that there was a head that had been planted directly onto one of your castle spires."

Both Applejack and Twilight gave each other a shocked look, the idea of a head on a pike is morbid enough to churn any normal ponies stomach.

"It turned out after closer inspection that it was a shaven, hornless head… of Cadence." Luna detailed.

Twilight started to cry. Applejack quickly grabbed Twilight's hoof from her stretcher and held it tight.

"It's okay sugarcube. It's ov-" Applejack was cut off by a guard pony.

"Princess! Princess Celestia!" The unicorn guard pony yelled as it ran over to the group.

Celestia commanded, "Report, guardsman?"

The guard panted and shifted his eyes between the sisters and Applejack and Twilight.

"Um, well, uhm." The guard worriedly misspoke, meanderingly and unsure if the words should be uttered.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of them, soldier." Celestia said as Luna confirmed with a nod.

The guard stood up straight and did as ordered. "Well, we cannot find the white furred body of the one called Rarity."

The four looked at each other in shock.

"There was no one in the foyer, and we have accounted for all the corpses. No sign of her can be found."

Twilight looked at Applejack, tears rolling down her face. Applejack looked back at her with a concerned face.

Celestia watched them look at each other and understood their pain. "Guard, lock down the castle. Don't stop searching until you find her."

She turned to Twilight and Applejack to comfort them. "We will do everything in our power to track her down, you can count on the guard."

Luna agreed with Celestia. "I'll help them search, she couldn't have gotten far." She then flew into the castle entrance with the unicorn guard following behind.

"I'll give you two a moment to rest before they move you." Celestia said. She then bowed to the two ponies and walked away.

Twilight wiped away the tears with the blanket that covered her.

"Don'tcha worry Twilight. They'll find her." Applejack said, trying to comfort her.

Twilight looked up at the sky, birds flying amongst the pegasi that were patrolling the sky.

"I'm not worried if they can find her." Twilight replied.

Applejack looked over, curious about what she meant.

She then added, "I'm worried if they can find her before she finds us."

"C'mon Twilight. Don't think like that. We may be pretty beaten up but she's the one in trouble, because…"

She paused for a moment.

"Her hours loo-"

Applejack was cut off by Celestia returning to their cart. "Sorry to interrupt but it looks like they're ready to move you sooner that I had thought. I'll see you both at the hospital."

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other and smiled. They remained in silence as two guard ponies began to pull their cart away to get them some much needed medical attention. Twilight took one last look back at the castle that had given them such a night of terror.

' _Never judge a book by its cover_.'


End file.
